Megan Bryden is a teaching fellow in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. The Digital Education Studio caught up with Megan to learn more about a project to develop lab skills using AR which is helping students transition to university and improve confidence in their lab ability.
In October 2020, the project to develop lab skills using AR was set up in response to Covid lockdown, when students could not attend labs in person. Dr Lesley Howell received a grant for a HoloLens – an augmented reality headset used to develop an engaging, inclusive approach to helping students develop practical chemistry skills using Mixed Reality (MR).
Lesley wore the headset and connected to a Teams call, so students could see what was happening in the lab, while she completed experiments. Lesley also used Mentimeter and the Teams chat, asking students questions and engaging students in the experiments.
After the lockdowns, the project continued to develop, and Megan joined in January 2024 taking over from Lesley's leave. “We are now offering live optional HoloLens demo sessions, where a PhD student is in the lab conducting the experiments and the students are in a lecture theatre watching and discussing them. It’s a good way to introduce students to the skill before they have an opportunity to have hands-on practice” reports Megan. As the project developed, they then turned their attention to creating instructional guides covering 16 key skills that we want first year students to be able to develop. Students can reserve time to use the HoloLens outside of timetabled hours to improve these skills. Megan shares:
“Prior to starting university, students have little to no lab experience. MR has added value by helping students transition to a university lab environment and practice in a risk-free environment. Even if they have completed hours of practical Chemistry, they won’t have done it surrounded by 60 other students in a loud and busy lab. They can be overwhelming and this approach of allowing students to practice is designed to help them overcome these barriers. The MR environment gives step by step instructions and realtime guidance, videos and text, which makes it far more engaging than a lab manual and far more interactive than simply watching a video on the skill.”
In collected feedback, 100% of students strongly agree that the MR guides improved their confidence. Student feedback mentioned:
Some of the challenges when creating the guides were learning how the MR software worked and overcoming the licensing issues raised by Microsoft products. In addition, logging onto the headset can be quite slow – we have learnt that when demonstrating the headsets, it is best to always keep one logged in and ready to be used. Students have also noted the weight of the headset. I have noticed once people have worn the headset a few times, they are more comfortable. Another challenge is to recruit students to engage with the HoloLens as this is currently optional.
Overall, the impact has been positive. Students feel much more confident in the lab. Those who have engaged with the HoloLens generally come back multiple times for further practice. Megan notes:
“Using MR is exciting and innovative. We demonstrated this work at the Night of Science and Engineering. We’re now attending an outreach event at Leyton Sixth Form College with an expected 800 students attending. We also have an invitation to speak at the teachers and advisors conference at QMUL in June. I will be presenting in the research showcase discussing how we used MR to develop lab skills education.”
We are exploring how to best integrate the potential of AR for skill development and consolidation by working with students, collecting feedback and exploring closer links to the curriculum.